Faculty Profile

Jean M. Hebert, Ph.D.

Professional Interests

Generating and regenerating the neocortex

The Hébert lab has two long-term focuses: first, understanding how a simple sheet of neuroepithelial cells early in embryogenesis develops into the adult neocortex, the part of our brains that we use for our highest cognitive and perceptual functions; and second, devising methods for regenerating the principle neurons of the adult neocortex when they are lost. For both interests, we use primarily molecular genetic techniques to manipulate the expression of regulatory genes in neural precursor cells in mice. More specifically, our two main goals are: 1) to understand how one class of genes, those that encode components of the FGF signaling pathway, regulate the behavior of neural precursor cells during development and in the adult forebrain; and 2) to establish paradigms for regenerating widely dispersed glutamatergic neurons in the adult neocortex using engineered neural precursor cells.

Contact

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Media Coverage

The New York Times interviews Dr. Jean Hébert about his research featured in Science that found a link between hyperactivity and an inner ear defect in mice.